Ahhh… I’ve been going through quite a lot of emotional turmoil lately and the whole “Remembrance Day“ bizzo, this year, has simply added to it. Music certainly is “balm for my soul” and I just about cracked up when chancing upon “The Digger’s Song” so am sharing in case you also need a spot of stress release… 😆

The notes on “YouTube” report:

“The diggers song also known as “Dinky Di”, this song, one of many to the tune “Villikins and his Dinah,” was probably first sung by Australian soldiers during the first World War, so it is hardly a “modern” song.

Bill Scott wrote the following notes in his compilation, “The Second Penguin Australian Songbook” (Penguin Books Australia, Ringwood, Victoria, 1980): I first heard this song during the Second World War, sung with great feeling by a soldier of the Sixth Division, who sang it as above, except that instead of using the first and second lines of the second verse, he sang:

The Digger then shot him a murderous look. He said, ‘I’m just back from that place called Tobruk.’

The song was not only sung during the first and second World Wars but it was updated to fit the settings of both the Korean and Vietnamese wars.”

“The Fields of Athenry” is a folk song about the Great Irish Famine (1845-1849), composed in the 1970s by Inchicore songwriter Pete St. John and first recorded by Irish ballad singer Danny Doyle. It tells the story of the famine through first-person narrative, recounting the tale of a prisoner who has been sentenced to being transported to Botany Bay, Australia, for stealing food to feed his starving family. The claim has been made that the words originate from a broadsheet ballad published in the 1880s by Devlin in Dublin with a different tune; however Pete St. John has stated definitively that he wrote the words as well as the music, so the story of the 1880s broadsheet may be false.

Whilst thinking about my Grand daughter’s joy today, I was also remembering my feelings of 50 years ago, and just a couple of years older than she is now, as I sat and cried with happiness to be in Centennial Hall, Adelaide, South Australia at the “Beatles” concert. Of course all I could see were tiny little specks on the faraway stage and all I could hear was the screaming of hysterical girls all around but it was indeed a night to remember.

Whilst the young folk are enjoying their night of delight right now, at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, I’ve been having a kind of shared pleasure here in my very own home. How could that be?… you may well ask. 😆 Well, I’ve been watching a vid of the Irish version of “Kiss You” and am loving trying to sing along in the beautiful Irish, which touches into my very soul and takes me right back to my Irish origins. What a delight to see young Irish people singing popular songs in their own language 🙂

For the English lyrics, and a vid of One Direction performing “Kiss You”, please click HERE

Seems to me that my head is a place where the distant past (of my ancestors), my personal past and my personal present kind of fuse, and come together, in the most unexpected of ways. Maybe that’s how it is for you too?

The lilting voice of “Geraldine Sexton” drew my daughter, Kirrily Ann, and myself to Geraldine as she sat perched on a stone wall adjacent to the Bunratty Folk Museum in County Clare, Ireland in 1994…. My first visit to the land of our Ancestors. This is for you mum…

My 2X Great Grandmother. Susan Kelleher

Mum closely identified with our Irish Heritage which soon became part of my personal identification, through the stories passed down through the generations. We heard how the ship my Great Great Grandmother, Susan Kelleher, immigrated to South Australia on was wrecked as they were approaching their final destination. How everything she owned went down with the “Nashwauk” and especially meaningful was hearing of Susan’s reluctance to leave her family, and her homeland… but that the effects of the “Potato Famine” made this a necessity.

I dedicate this song to my Susan Kelleher, born Country Clare, Ireland in 1836 and died in Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia on 9 Apr 1922 leaving behind three living daughters and one son, with three daughters deceased. “The grandchildren and great grandchildren number 71.” Susan never did return to her native land.

Lastly I thank my precious children: Cullen Andrew, Jarren Vaughan (deceased), Kirrily Ann and Chad Sean Habel for enriching my life and loving me. This is for you my lovelies.

At long last the process to put the Nashwauk Anchor back on public display has commenced and I sure am smilin’…

The City of Onkaparinga,South Australia is taking it to public consultation and is seeking feedback which you can be a part of, regardless of where you live. However there is a tight time frame and the cut off date is, Friday 3 May 2013 but just click HERE for a link to quickly and easily provide your feedback online.

This would be of particular interest to those with Irish heritage and especially if their Ancestors were upon this ill-fated Immigrant ship when it was foundered and then sank off the coast of Moana, South Australia, taking all their worldly goods with it. Information of the history of the “Nashwauk Anchor”, and the sites proposed for it’s re-location, is provided below.

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Many would remember my post of 12 months ago where I described the sinking of this immigrant ship on which my 18 year old Great Great Grandmother, Susan Kelleher, travelled from County Clare, Ireland to make a new life in South Australia. Susan and her sister Bridget were among the 207 single Irish girls who boarded this “bride ship” in Liverpool, UK which, after a three month journey, made its made its way up the Gulf St Vincent toward its final destination, Port Adelaide, South Australia. It had been an uneventful voyage and was a dark, but clear, moonlit night when at 4am the watch changed, clouds obscured the coast and the “Nashwauk” was wrecked adjacent to Harriott’s Creek (Pedler’s Creek) at the mouth of the Onkaparinga River, some 40 miles short of it’s destination.

Click to enlarge

Childhood stories of the shipwreck, the girls being carried ashore on the sailors backs and especially our family visits to the Nashwauk Anchor, whetted my appetite for researching all aspects of family.

Mum, my brothers and I with our car and caravan in the background. Circa 1954. Copyright(c)2012.Catherine Crout-Habel

It was a sad day when, preparing to take my own children to visit their Great Great Great Grandmother’s Anchor, it was not to be found… No longer was it standing proudly and majestically on the foreshore adjacent to where the ship foundered and then broke apart, taking all of my Susan’s belongings with it. Also gone was the Moana Roundhouse which kept the Anchor company during its constant vigil as well as providing us with yummy icecreams and ice cold cool drinks on those hot summer days.

Sadly the Roundhouse is gone forever.. It was the first building erected in Moana. The stone laid on 19Nov1927 and this iconic building was demolished in 2006. To read about this sad event and view some irreplaceable photographs please click HERE. (please note: 2 days ago this links was working and now it’s not. I’ll leave it here for a while and see if it fixes itself) 🙂 …

Fortunately the Nashwauk Anchor has survived and has been in the custody of what was once the “Moana Caravan Park” but has grown and is now the “Moana Beach Tourist Park”. Although I was terribly disappointed that it had been reduced in stature, and no longer had a commanding presence, at least survived. I’m sure that those who dragged it ashore 73 years after the ship went down and then set it on its high concrete plinth, overlooking the sea, would be most pleased that it has not been lost or abandoned.

In 1927 the Noarlunga offerred a reward to recover the anchor and Mr Robinson, his brother, son and three horses successfully completed the task.

“Mr. Robinson said that one day in about every two years the anchor of the Nashwauk used to become visible about 50 yards from the shore off Moana, and when, in May of this year, he noticed the anchor showing, he decided that he would en- deavor to reclaim it. With his brother and son and three horses he set about the task, and after five or six hours of strenuous effort was successful. The anchor of the Nashwauk is 11. ft. long and weighs several tons, but Lake Beach Estate, Limited, which is developing Moana, has decided to transport it another hundred yards, and set it upon a pedestal to remain a link with history for all time. A concrete base to take the huge anchor has already been constructed.”

So highly regarded is the Anchor that it was taken to Canberra by Dr Richard Reid, restored by the National Museum of Australia, and put on display (17 Mar 2011)as part of the “Not Just Ned – A true History of the Irish in Australia” Exhibition. The Australian National Geographic reported on the significance of this Anchor as an important part of our South Australian heritage:

“Women were sent out on government ships to work as domestic staff on the new colony and to redress the gender ratio. The exhibition will display an anchor from the Nashwauk, a ship wrecked off South Australia in 1855, carrying 207 of these young Irish women. They were carried from the waters on the shoulders of men who swam out to rescue them – and they all survived.”

To read the entire Australian National Geographic article please click HERE

Dr Richard Reid

It’s wonderful that this precious relic has been cleaned, restored and has taken pride of place in such and important Exhibition but my fear, which I wrote about HERE, was that it would never come back to its rightful home in South Australia. Well, its back home and ready to go on display. To read about the “Not Just Ned – A True History of the Irish in Australia” exhibition, please click HERE. Thankyou Dr Reid. All that’s needed is a decision about the location which you, the public, is invited to be a part of. The City of Onkaparinga has listed 3 Potential sites:a) Moana Tourist Park: approximate cost $4,000

The proposal was to return the anchor to the Moana Tourist Park and to have the anchor semi-enclosed in a recycled timber and galvanised iron structure which would give the anchor some protection from the environmental factors at the site. The cost of the structure and concrete plinth is approximately $4,000 but does not include any enclosed side panels on the structure. This site has existing lighting which will reduce costs associated with its display. This location would not address the concerns of some people in the community who have expressed an interest in the anchor being located in a more publicly accessible area.

Roadway leading down the side of the Moana Pioneers Memorial Hall to Moana Tourist Park

b) Nashwauk Reserve: approximate cost $4,000 – $15,000

There is existing developed open space that resides between the Moana Surf Lifesaving Club and the Moana Tourist Park. This reserve was developed several years ago as part of the Coast Park program. The anchor could be located as a feature within the reserve. This location would not have the passive surveillance that it previously enjoyed at the Tourist Park to assist with avoiding vandalism. The cost of the structure would be $4,000 for the same structure as is proposed in the Tourist Park but would be increased if side panels were added to the structure to protect it from the sea environment. Lighting of the structure and anchor would also increase costs. For an enclosed structure with lighting the cost would increase to approximately $15,000.

Nashwauk Reserve viewed from Nashwauk Crescent

Nashwauk Reseve viewed from Moana Crescent

c) Moana Pioneers memorial Hall approximate cost $4,000 – $15,000

There is sufficient area in the open space in front of the Moana Pioneers Memorial Hall to locate the anchor and this would also serve as an entry statement to the Coast Park area. The cost of the structure in this location would be as described in option (b) above, dependent on the nature of the structure.

Nashwauk Pioneers Memorial Hall

The City of Onkaparinga has provided this “birds eye”view to help folks get their bearings.

Potential sites for the Nashwauk Anchor placement

However, thanks to the wonders of modern technology via Google Maps, you can go for a stroll down Nashwauk Crescent, Moana, South Australia towards the Esplanade and check out the sites for yourself. Just click HERE to begin your journey at the round-about, with the road to the Moana Tourist Park (proposal a) on your left, the Pioneer Memoral Hall (proposal c) on the corner… and as you travel down to the seashore Nashwauk Reserve (proposal b) is on your left. Enjoy…

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The managers of the Moana Tourist park left a message, about this matter, on my blog… click HERE to read in the comments section. I phoned, we chatted and they took up my offer to publish their point of view which differs from mine, because we’re coming from a different perspective, but certainly is worthy of consideration before any decision is made. Thanks Daryl and Sandi-Kate. Their proposal is as follows:

“As the current Managers of the Moana Beach Tourist Park, we would like to contribute to the community consultation process in regard to finding a new location to place the Nashwauk Anchor. There is debate about the length of time that the anchor has been displayed inside the Park, but it has been a significant number of years. During this time many a guest to the Park have taken photographs of their families with the Anchor, some of them repeatedly each time they visit. The anchor is a part of many guest’s childhood memories of summer holidays spent at the Tourist Park. Over the 12 months of 2012, we received a visit from 549 families that reside within the City of Onkaparinga. This accounts for over 30% of all reservations for the year, and demonstrates that the Park is accessed by a high proportion of local ratepayers who qualify to be part of this engagement process. The residents that live on the Park under a lease agreement are also used to the anchor being a part of their home environment, and some feel very connected to it and are prepared to put forward their ideas. Over the years, the Tourist Park has built an identity around the anchor, with it’s inclusion on the Logo and photographs on the Parks Facebook Page. We would like to continue marketing the Tourist Park with the anchor as our point of difference, as it gives a great impression of history and proximity to the beach.

We understand completely the views of those who have ancestors that were on the Nashwauk when it went down. They should be able to visit and view the anchor easily, and would choose for it to remain close to the actual site where it occurred.

Everyone shares the same concern for the safety of the anchor going forward, that it can be protected from the elements and also intentional damage caused by vandalism.

Daryl and I would like to propose an alternative site to the current 3 choices under consideration. We would love to see the anchor displayed at the entrance to the Park within close proximity to the visitor car park and Nashwauk Crescent. This would be a compromise to address the concerns of those in the community who have already expressed an interest in the anchor being located in a more publicly accessible area, and also allow it to continue the passive surveillance from Park Management in an endeavour to avoid vandalism. This location would also be ideal to serve as an entry statement to the Coast Park area from the south, along Nashwauk Crescent, while also highlighting and identifying the entrance to the Park.

This proposal would tie in comfortably with the proposed future upgrade of the Tourist Park entrance area and/ or the sealing of the dustbowl that is a visitor car park that has been put forward as a Capital Works Project for several years running. The associated costs in choosing this location would still be in the same vicinity as the other 2 sites that have been proposed outside the confines of the Tourist Park.

As with any issue that is undertaken, either by City of Onkaparinga or Moana Beach Tourist Park, you will not be able to satisfy each and every person with an interest in the outcome. However we suggest that this site would at least address the issues raised thus far by interested parties, and could be viewed as a positive result for all stakeholders.

My vision is to see the Nashwauk Anchor retured to its former glory before being removed from the foreshore, tucked away behind boom gates and removed from the public eye. It would be wonderful to see it returned to serve the purpose envisaged by Lake Beach Estate, Limited, which developed Moana when, in 1927, it set it upon a pedestal on the foreshore for it to remain a link with history for all time.

I envisage a future where exciting public events, celebrating this important aspect of our South Australian heritage, are held on Nashwauk Reserve… especially during May, which is South Australian History Month and also the same month the “Nashwauk” foundered and was torn apart by the stormy seas.

The 160th Anniversary of the shipwreck is only 2 years away – 13 May 2015– and is a perfect time to proudly showcase Moana Beach, and its environs, pulling in tourists from far away just as the summer season is coming to a close.

For these reasons, of the 3 Potential sites, my choice has to be Option b) the Nashwauk Reserve. However, like the Management of the Park, I have an alternative, and preferred site, which is right there at the corner of Nashwauk Crescent and the Esplanade… overlooking the sea, close to the Life Saving Club and the Australian flag. Family picnics, fetes and history festivals could be held on the Nashwauk Reserve with the Nashwauk Anchor in full sight.

The view along Nashwauk Crescent

Corner of Nashwauk Crescent and the Esplanade

Just imagine swinging around the corner of Nashwauk Crescent, travelling past the Pioneer Memorial Hall, and being drawn towards the beachfront by the stately majesty of this iconic piece of South Australian History… and to see it floodlit at night would add to its magnificence.

This position is more central and protected than the reserve as it is close to the Lifesaving Club, the car park and with buildings on this corner of the Esplanade. If the Lifesaving Club has security cameras, this would be an advantage… if not, installing them would provide extra protection for both structures. If funding is an issue, maybe other organisations would be willing to contribute a little to help offset the cost… after all it is a State Heritage item.

These are my thoughts and I hope the City of Onkaparing gives them due consideration. Your view may differ, and that’s OK… remember that the cut off date is Friday 3 May 2013 which is not far away. Just click HERE and you can download a hard copy of the form to provide feedback, or fill in an online survey.

On Saturday, January 26, 1929 – Australia Day… The Adelaide Newspaper “The News” featured a magnificent photo of the “Nashwauk Anchor” mounted high on its pedestal on the foreshore and the caption read:

MOANA BEACH LANDMARK

This old anchor has been mounted on a concrete base. It formerly belonged to the Nashwauk, which was wrecked at the mouth of the Onkaparinga in May, 1855. After 72 years the anchor was em-bedded upright in the sand, but it has been since mounted and will be suitably inscribed in the near future.

How wonderful it would be to once again see the Nashwauk Anchor return to its former glory as a Moana Beach Landmark.

UPDATE: The Councillors of the City of Onkaparinga met, on 23 Jul 2013, and decided that the “Naswauk Anchor” would be re-located adjacent to the Moana Pioneer Memorial Hall. Exact positioning not yet decided.

Curing drunkenness and cooking up a tasty bowl of German vegetable soup were, it seems, matters of concern to South Australian women 100 years ago…

Always fascinated by the daily life of my Ancestors I’ve found Australia’s free digitised newspapers, on Trove, as a perfect way to satisfy my curiosity and have decided it will be fun to share these discoveries with readers by participating in Amy Houstons, theme of Trove Tuesday.

The plan is to select items at random from a range of South Australian newspapers, from 100 years ago, and have a look at what my Ancestors may have been reading. It will be interesting to see what turns up.

Never could I have imagined that blogging my Family History, intended only as a legacy to my descendants, would have the added bonus of helping make some wonderful “virtual” friends. One such person is Angela, whose Blog, “A SILVER VOICE FROM IRELAND”, both entertains and informs. As I was musing over which tune to share today, the following came as a blessing from Angela via our “conversation” on her recent post “A New Age: Leaving”.

It’s by Liam Clancy, is titled “The Parting Glass”, and Angela tells me it’s usually sang at the end of gatherings, in that beautiful land of Ireland… which I call “My Land”..

The Parting Glass

“Oh all the money that e’er I seeI spent it in good company.And all the harm that e’er I’ve donealas, it was to none but me.

And all I’ve done for want of witto memory now I can’t recall.So fill to me the parting glassgood night and joy be with you all.

Oh all the comrades that e’er I hadthey are sorry for my going away.And all the sweethearts that e’er I hadthey would wish me one more day to stay.

But since it falls unto my lot that I should rise and you should not.I’ll gently rise and softly callgood night and joy be with you all.”

Finally I must share the song which describes perfectly my feeling for that part of the world, my Great Great Grandmother’s Homeland, which deep down in my very soul I truly feel is “My Land”…

Where the River Shannon Flows

There’s a pretty spot in IrelandI always claim for my landWhere the faeries and the blarney will never ever die‘Tis the land of the shillalehAnd my heart goes back there dailyTo the girl I left behind me when we kissed and said goodbye

Where dear old Shannon’s flowingWhere the three leaf shamrock growsWhere my heart is I am going to my little Irish roseAnd the moment that I meet herWith a hug and kiss I’ll greet herFor there’s not a colleen sweeter where the River Shannon flows.

Sure no letter I’ll be mailingFor soon will I be sailingAnd I’ll bless the ship that takes me to my dear old Erin’s shoreThere I’ll settle down foreverAnd I’ll leave the old sod neverAnd I’ll whisper to my sweetheart “Come and take my name as thore

Where dear old Shannon’s flowingWhere the three shamrock growsWhere my heart is I am going to my little Irish roseAnd the moment that I meet herWith a hug and kiss I’ll greet herFor there’s not a colleen sweeter where the River Shannon flows.”

From the time I was “knee high to a grasshopper” I’ve always wondered WHY? … asked endless questions and no doubt driven those around me nearly crazy, which is probably why I’d sometimes get infuriating answers like:

* It’s a wig- wam for a goose’s bridle.* That’s for me to know and you wonder about.* Just because…

As this blog is a legacy for my descendants, I’ve decided to start up “Thoughtful Thursday” posts to share some of the thoughts which have engaged me. Maybe other readers will enjoy them too and may have had similar thoughts?

If you have your own “Thoughtful Thursday” reflections it’d be fun if you share and I’ll set up some sort of a link. How I would do this I have no idea… guess that’s another “Thoughtful Thursday” post for another day… but seems pretty “do-able”,I reckon.

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My thoughts, this week, have been flying around all over the place… hither and thither… and is why, despite having done all the research long ago, this weeks “Tuesday Trove” post was rather late off the “starting blocks“.

Australian Aboriginal Flag

Then not so long ago it all hit me right in the very centre of my forehead and my thoughts focussed totally on matters to do with our original Australians. This was prompted by a FaceBook post from Lanie, the delightful niece of my former husband whom I also claim as my own. Up popped the following vid, from Lanie, titled “Generation One Real Studies”

Ohhh… reached into my very soul, touched my heart and gave it a good old tweak. Of course the long term unemployed, and those who’ve grown un with generations of welfare dependancy, are stuck in a rut don’t know how to get out and need REAL training for REAL jobs, not these “mickey mouse” training schemes which “tick all the boxes” but are meaningless, useless and unfocussed.

So me, being me, I went “a-googling” and was SO surprised to discover that TODAY, the 21st March 2013, is our Australian “National Close the Gap Day” …

HOOLEY DOOLEY!!! … how come I knew nothing about this? …

Then, a little earlier today this wonderful breaking news hit the media… the South Australia’s Parliament is expected to approve recognition of Aboriginal people in the state’s constitution.

So proud, am I to be a South Australian on this memorable day. A bill to amend the constitution received bi-partisan support in the Lower House and will go before the Upper House this afternoon and is expected to be passed. The bill recognises past injustices and acknowledges Aboriginal people as the traditional owners and occupiers of South Australia. Aboriginal Affairs Minister, Ian Hunter, says the change is long overdue.

“For too long, our foundation document, our South Australian constitution was a blank canvas in terms of mentioning Aboriginal South Australians. It had no recognition of them and paid no respect to them whatsoever.”

Aboriginal leader and convenor of an advisory panel on the bill, Professor Peter Buckskin, says the amendment acknowledges that Indigenous people were dispossessed of their land.

Professor Peter Bucksin

“There is now a new respect for our culture that has survived the 175 years of that dispossession.

This process has really been one of continuing the reconciliation journey. It’s getting more South Australians to understand Aboriginal culture, traditions and knowledge and our connection to our country, land and sea”

Here’s a clip of the wonderful Warrumpi Band with “Jailangaru Pakarnu” for your enjoyment and in celebration of “Close the Gap Day 2013”.

So, there you have it… my focussed thinking for this week.

Hoping that if this week hasn’t been the most WONDERFUL ever for you that you’ve got through it OK and have come out smiling on the other side. Cheers, Catherine.

THANKS FOR DROPPING BY…

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